The Oil & Gas Industry is one of the most important industries contributing to the world's fuel. In terms of dollar value, it is one of the largest sectors in the world, generating approximately $5 trillion in global revenue as of 2022. The sector is one of the most crucial as it impacts all other sectors, starting from transport to electricity & heating to manufacturing & industrial production. However, apart from its importance, the industry is also well-known for its large number of workplace safety hazards.
Safety concerns exist at every stage of the oil and gas supply chain, from the extraction of raw materials to the refinement and distribution stages. Safety in Oil & Gas Industry is a matter of concern to all involved in the industry. The challenges and responsibilities in this sector are even magnified in countries like Saudi Arabia, Russia, Kuwait, India and the like where the oil & gas industry is a cornerstone of the economy.
This blog thus, attempts at exploring the various pain points prevailing in the Oil & Gas industry and how countries like Saudi Arabia, Russia, Kuwait, India and others; rich in oil & gas can leverage advanced technologies like AI Video Analytics to boost the safety in the Oil & Gas industry.
Why Oil & Gas Industry is considered as one of the safety-compromised industry?
The Oil & Gas Industry is termed as one of the safety-compromised sectors. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the mortality rate in the oil and gas industry is 7 times higher than in other vital sectors. In the year 2020, the rate of job-related injuries and illnesses for the O&G Industry in the U.S. was 1.4 per 100 employees. Further, according to the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries, around 4/10 workers are killed in Oil & Gas Industry owing to highway vehicle incident and 3 of every 5 on-site fatalities in oil & gas extraction industry is caused by struck-by/caught-by/caught-between hazards.
Thus, the statistics speak out loud why the Oil & Gas industry is regarded as one of the riskiest industries.
What are the common Safety Hazards in Oil & Gas Industry?
The major hazards in Oil & Gas Industry are:
Vehicle Collision
Stuck-By/ Caught-In/ Caught Between Machinery/ Objects
Explosion & Fire
Fall from Height (FFH)
Confined Space Accidents
Ergonomic hazards
Hazardous Gas Leak
Electrical/ Mechanical/ Hydraulic Danger Zone Intrusion
How can AI make Oil & Gas Industry a Safer Place to Work?
Advanced technologies like AI and its subsidiaries have been emerging these days with great number of potentialities to cater to the various problems faced by the mankind. The Oil & Gas industry which is one of the most lucrative and at the same time, one of the most dangerous industries can benefit the most from AI and its subsidiaries like Video Analytics.
The oil & gas jobsites involve a complex network of pipelines. Improper threading in pipelines or any defect like leakage can develop serious risks to the men & materials in the jobsites coupled with losses to the factory and budget resources. Therefore, it is crucial to detect even minutest of error. However, it is not feasible by human eyes to detect each and every defect in the complex network of pipelines. This is where AI and its subsidiaries can come in. With AI for defect detection, even minor defects can be easily detected and timely action can be taken to prevent losses and avoid accidents.
In addition to this, oil & gas plants offer extremely critical working environments. The workers in this industry are highly vulnerable to the risk of injury as they have to work under different temperatures, work in confined spaces, get exposed to toxic gases, and so on. Not adhering to proper safety protocols can result in grave fatalities. But manual safety monitoring of such large number of workers round-the-clock is cumbersome, ineffective and erroneous. However, AI- powered video surveillance system (VSS) can seamlessly monitor the worksites to make sure that proper safety measures are followed, and no loopholes are left behind, thus ensuring holistic safety in the jobsites.
How can viAct make the Oil and Gas Industry a Safer Place to Work?
After its successful implementation in varied construction spaces and looking into the growing number of fatalities in Oil & Gas industry, viAct is now leveraging the power of its Scenario-based AI in the oil & gas sector to cater to the challenges faced by the industry since long. viAct’s safety inspection software for the oil and gas industry uses industrial grade video analytics to ensure accurate and real-time monitoring of safety conditions in the oil and gas industry with immediate visibility to protect the 3Ms – men, material and machinery. viAct leverages the power of AI video analytics to elevate from reactive compliance to proactive incident prevention, in turn minimizing workforce injuries and boosting workers’ safety in oil & gas industry.
The following are the different ways in which viAct can make Oil & Gas Industry a safer place to work:
Fire & Smoke Detection
The smart video surveillance system (VSS) by viAct leverages the power of scenario-based AI to detect and alert fire and smoke at the very onset, to avoid any catastrophic damage from taking place in the jobsite.
PPE Detection
The plug and play, mobile and portable AI monitoring system is capable of PPE detection like safety helmet, safety jacket, gas mask, etc. These insights are also recorded in viAct’s digital works supervision system (DWSS) and can be viewed anytime later as visual evidences and/or for workers’ training.
Danger Zone Alerts
The video analytics powered danger zone alert system enables the users to draw and define custom areas as well as customize different activation time for each danger zone according to their project requirement. As soon as any intrusion into these danger zones is detected, instant danger zone intrusion alerts are sent out.
Collision Detection
viAct’s smart site safety system (SSSS or 4S) can detect any instance of close proximity between workers and objects and send real-time alerts to prevent any instance of human-machine-object collision.
Extreme Temperature Alerts
The AI monitoring system detects any rise of temperature in equipment and as soon as it crosses optimal threshold temperature, local light & sound alerts are sent out, so that insightful actions can be taken before it is too late. This helps in risk anticipation and management.
Unauthorized Access Detection
The safety inspection software for oil & gas industry is well-trained and tested to detect any instance of unauthorized access and instantly alert the on-site and remote stakeholders to restrict such access and ensure safety in the jobsite.
Work-At-Height Monitoring
The AI video monitoring system helps to monitor workers’ work at height safety by detecting any instance of safety non-compliance, like workers with improper/no PPE, like safety jacket, safety helmet, life saving ropes, etc.; their risky acts, like improper means of climbing, clinging onto the surface of the suspended platform/Gondola, smoking behavior etc.; missing barriers, and so on and so forth.
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